National and State Register
Rio Grande & Southern Derrick Car
Montrose County
The Rio Grande Southern Railroad Derrick Car is a rare surviving example of one type of maintenance of way car constructed for use on a narrow-gauge railroad. Derrick cars of this size assisted in the construction of small bridges and moving rail ties and track.
It was particularly useful in the clearing the railroad’s right of way following rock slides and wash-outs, both common hazards of the mountainous Colorado terrain. Constructed in 1948 by Fairmount Motors, a leading supplier of railroad maintenance vehicles, this car was one of only three W60 Series A Derrick Cars constructed specifically for narrow-gauge lines and is the only one known to be extant.
National Register
Address
Curecanti National Recreation Area, Cimarron
Site Number
5MN.9169